Tag: alt

474. La Colonie de Vacances

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Episode 474 is LA COLONIE DE VACANCES, a collective of four French bands PNEU, MARVIN, ELECTRIC ELECTRIC and PAPIER TIGRE. I didn’t know what to label this music until I came upon the term “math rock,” essentially the intersection of prog rock and indie rock, featuring irregular rhythms, guitars that eschew chords, hyperactive drumming and avoidance of melody. King Crimson would be the godfather of math rock. Among the groups, Pneu is a raw power trio, Papier Tigre features vocals, Electric Electric is techno-focused and Marvin is aggressive and techno-rhythmic. When they get together live as La Colonie de Vacancies the four bands arrange themselves in a quad and play at each other in controlled chaos. Sounds cool.

Favorite album: ECHT (by La Colonie de Vacances)

Favorite band album: Marvin (by Marvin)

Favorite song: L’amour universel (by La Colonie de Vacances)

Favorite song by a band: Roquedur (by Marvin)

Favorite song by another band: Catadioptre amidextre (by Pneu)

Ranking of bands: 1. Marvin, 2. Pneu, 3. Electric Electric, 4. Papier Tigre

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Try ECHT, which fuses the bands’ sounds together

468. Regina Spektor

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(January 2023) Episode 468 is REGINA SPEKTOR. I can overcome my aversion to “singer-songwriters” with Regina Spektor. She uses her versatile voice like an instrument, confident yet delicate, neither emo nor operatic. Her lyrics and wordplay are interesting, and melodies inventive. I prefer her earlier, sparer recordings —  mostly just her voice and peppy piano — over her later lush and orchestrated albums, although two of my favorite songs are on her latest release (“Up the Mountain” and “SugarMan”).

Favorite album: Soviet Kitsch

Favorite song: Up the Mountain

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation:  I do recommend

461. The Shins

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(December 2022) Episode 461 is THE SHINS. They are a textbook representation of the duality of 2000s indie rock: songs melodic enough to be enjoyable, yet delivered in a twee manner that makes them not so enjoyable. By the 2010s, their music becomes burdened by the application of lush over-production typical of the era.

Favorite album: Oh, Inverted World

Favorite song: New Slang

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: only the first album has any semblance of charm

450. Spacemen 3

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(November 2022) Episode 450 is SPACEMEN 3. They’re labeled neo-psychedelic (perhaps for their ample drug use) but I hear them as noise rock — a transformative band, molding elements of MC5, the Stooges and Lou Reed and creating sounds you hear later in shoegazers (My Bloody Valentine) and sonic adventurers (Yo La Tengo). Few if anyone else was doing this in the 1980s, and I regret not knowing them then. But beyond the noise, Spacemen 3 offered surprisingly infectious low-structure songs, the kind of stuff you’ll hear with Spiritualized (not surprising, since Jason Pierce led both), Brian Jonestown Massacre and Beta Band.

Favourite album: Playing with Fire

Favourite song: Suicide

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: strongly recommend. Beautiful noise: Suicide, Revolution, Rollercoaster.  Low-structure songs: Come Down Easy, How Does it Feel?, Hypnotized, I Love You

445. Sturgill Simpson

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(October 2022) Episode 445 is STURGILL SIMPSON.  I’ll never be a country music fan but I’m trying to expand my knowledge. In conventional mode, Simpson evokes outlaw country and Merle & Waylon (much better than hot country which I loathe), and nails bluegrass and ballads too. But he also goes iconoclast on a couple albums with electronic sounds and distorted guitars for an alt rock sound.

Favorite album: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

Favorite song: Fastest Horse in Town

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: if you’re into country you’re probably already into him; if not, give it a try

443. The Vines

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(October 2022) Episode 443 is THE VINES.  I see them as the garage band version of the classic rock-stomping Jet, both emerging out of Australia 2002.  The garage hooks were good but too few. They developed a lush, overproduced sound that presaged that of fellow Aussies Pond and Tame Impala.

Favourite album: Highly Evolved

Favourite song: Get Free

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: a few of their songs do slay

430. Adam and the Ants

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Episode 430 is ADAM AND THE ANTS (+ Adam Ant solo).  “Kings of the Wild Frontier” was the one non-classic rock album in my high school collection, and I played it repeatedly to show how “alternative” I was. How lame. But revisiting it four decades later, it still kinda slaps — idiosyncratic new wave with Burundi drums, glam tones and a pirate ethos, and bouncy fun.  The first solo album is OK but you can skip the rest.

Favourite album: Kings of the Wild Frontier

Favourite song: Dog Eat Dog

Favourite solo song: Goody Two Shoes

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: You’re good with Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming

405. Happy Mondays

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(May 2022) Episode 405 is the HAPPY MONDAYS.  Arguably the most Madchester sound within the Madchester scene, with plenty of grooves and rave beats.  But they lacked the melodic charm of peers the Stone Roses and Charlatans.

Favourite album: Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches

Favourite song: Bob’s Yer Uncle

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: worth a listen to see what the Madchester thing was all about

393. The Beta Band

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(March 2022) Episode 393 is THE BETA BAND. Like me, you may know them from that iconic head-bobbing scene in the movie High Fidelity.  It’s hard to describe their esoteric mix of folk, electronica, loops, beats and experimental sounds, but it is generally enjoyable. I don’t know if it was intentional, but the “beta” in the name implies it’s not a finished project, and it sounds like it.

Favourite album: Hot Shots II

Favourite song: Dry the Rain

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you’re looking for something unconventional

390. The Charlatans

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(March 2022) Episode 390 is THE CHARLATANS (UK).  A band out of Madchester scene (dream pop with funky beats) that survived its demise (where did you go Stone Roses?). They impressively transitioned through Britpop, with some good albums in the 90s, and kept evolving their sound with melodic rock and lush pop.

Favourite album: Us and Us Only

Favourite song: Forever

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: they should be in your 90s Britrock rotation